All Chapters of Chasing the Riot: The Alpha's Second Chance: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Helena’s POVThe first thing I noticed when I stepped into the studio was the smell of cold coffee, hairspray, and that faint plastic scent of studio lights that had been on too long. It smelled like every interview I’d ever done, except this one felt different. This one felt like a trap.“Helena, we’re so excited to have you,” the producer said, touching my elbow like we were old friends. “Just a quick chat that'll be light and fun. We’ll talk about the reforms, the new policies, and… you know… Jarrett’s run.”She said his name and my jaw ticked. I smiled anyway. I had gotten very good at smiling when I wanted to flip a table.“Of course,” I said. “Whatever you want.”That was a lie. Three months earlier the league had been on fire. Emails had been leaked, executives were fired, and players were caught in contracts that shouldn’t have existed. I was the one who walked into the boardroom with a 200-page report and didn’t blink when half the room tried to call me emotional. I was th

Vanessa's POVI picked the dress on purpose because it had cream silk and an empire waist. It had the kind of cut that whispered instead of scream. It was tight enough that the cameras would ask questions in the comments, and loose enough that I could still say “oh this old thing” and laugh like it was nothing.My hair was down, combed straight and glossy. I spent 40 minutes on it. I applied a bright red lipstick on my lips before putting on the diamond studs that Brent bought me last Christmas when he was still pretending he loved me more than the headlines and the brand deals. The balcony of the Langley penthouse was perfect. The golden hour bled across the city skyline behind me. You could see the river and the stadium lights in the distance. A ring light was hidden in the potted ficus so I wouldn’t look washed out. I’d told the housekeeper to leave it there. She did without asking why.Brent stood behind the camera with his phone in his hand. He hated doing this. He said it fel

Helena's pov The air down here tasted like rust and antiseptic.I shouldn't have been behind that glass. Council protocol said family is a liability. But Jarrett pulled rank. Or maybe he broke it. With him, the difference had always been thin.In the room below, Vanessa sat at a steel table. Silver cuffs locked her wrists to the bolts. They were already working. Her skin was red and blistered where the metal touched her. Blood ran in thin lines down her forearms and dripped onto the concrete.She looked small and nothing like the woman who had smiled at my baby shower and told me the cramps were normal.“Start talking,” the Elder said. His voice was flat. He wasn’t asking.Vanessa’s eyes darted to the camera. To me. She knew I was there. “I can’t—”“You can,” Jarrett said beside me. His voice didn’t shake. That was worse. “Or we let the silver do the rest.”A sob broke out of her. It was ugly. Real. “Okay! Okay, please. Take them off.”The Elder didn’t move. “Talk.”And she did. Word

Jarett’s POVThe car smelled like blood and rain. Brent had moved to the back seat just so he could be with Helena. I allowed it because I was driving and someone had to be back there with her. I couldn't do both. Brent had taken off his jacket and was covering Helena with it. She was breathing was too fast and too shallow. Every time the car hit a pothole she made this small sound in the back of her throat and I wanted to put my fist through the dashboard.“Her fever’s climbing,” Brent said from the passenger seat. He kept looking back at her. His hand was hovering over her forehead like he didn’t know if he was allowed to touch her. “She’s burning up, Jarett. We need to move faster.”I didn’t answer. I just stepped on the gas. The werewolf hospital was forty minutes out of the city. No signs or any website, just a concrete building behind a vet clinic that only took “special cases” after midnight. I’d been there only twice before.I didn’t trust Brent. I didn’t trust that he w

Jarett’s POVAfter the nurse walked out and closed the door behind her, I didn’t move. Helena was still asleep on the hospital bed. Her breathing was shallow but steady. The IV dripped slowly into her arm, and the bruises on her neck looked darker under the fluorescent light. But then, the nurse's question began burning inside my head. Who was with Brent? It was just I and Brent who brought Helena and I was sure he had been waiting alone in the lobby. Confusion hit me first then suspicion. I glanced back at Helena. Her eyelashes fluttered but she didn’t wake. I didn’t want to leave her. Not with what was going on and definitely not when she was still this weak. But if there was something I needed to know, I needed to know it now before it got to her.I pulled the blanket up higher over her shoulders. “I’ll be back in two minutes,” I whispered, even though she couldn’t hear me. “Don’t you dare go anywhere.”My boots made no sound on the tile as I stepped into the hall. The were